10 tragic deaths in MMA

#6 Ryan Gracie

Left to right - Ryan, Renzo and Ralph Gracie

In terms of bad boy image, Ryan Gracie makes Conor McGregor, Colby Covington and the Diaz brothers look like wobbly toddlers. His nickname, "Fera", which means "wild" in Portugese, was well-deserved, as he was known more for his fights outside the sport than in it.

Despite him and his brother Ralph helping pioneer BJJ in the city of Sao Paulo, Ryan's notoriety would become his calling card. The height of his infamy was when he joined the "Pit Boys", a Rio De Janeiro gang who would assault people on the streets after dark.

Ryan had feuds with several prominent BJJ competitors, but none as violent as his 2001 bust-up with a local thug, Marcus Vinicius Rosa, where Ryan was stabbed. When Ryan signed with PRIDE FC, the company was quick to turn this ferality into his USP, something that brought Japanese fans in droves.

After his last fight in PRIDE in 2004, Ryan would become dependent on drugs. In Sao Paulo in December 2007, Ryan would steal a car and then crash it. In an attempt to evade the police, he tried to steal a bike from a delivery man, but was unsuccessful.

While detained, the police called a psychiatrist to administer drugs to pacify Ryan. The injection would prove fatal, and Ryan was found dead the next morning. The doctor was charged with negligence and sentenced to two years of community service.

Ryan's now 16-year-old son, Rayron, won gold in the IBJJF World Championship last year.